32

32

The house was huge. Lauren made her way through large, expensively decorated hallways, looking for the bathroom. Selena had ditched her the moment they came across the hallway leading to Hutson’s office, where Richard was.

Lauren smiled. Aaron’s parents were so lucky to have each other.

Coming to another door, Lauren gripped the handle and pushed it open.

She blinked. It was empty.

“Wow. A house so huge there are actually empty rooms. Must be nice,” she murmured to herself as she pulled the door closed.

Something creaked. Lauren spun around, a hand held on her heart. Gosh, she was as jumpy as a rabbit since the incident with Marcus.

Swallowing to moisten her parched throat, she carried on down the hallway. This was only the second floor.

Where was the bathroom?

With a huff, she grabbed another doorknob, but suddenly her heart thumped, so Lauren stopped. What was it?

She frowned at the sudden anxiety that started eating away at her stomach. Forcing it down, she pushed the door open

“Oh.” Lauren stared wide-eyed.

It was a huge bedroom.

A lady sat on a sofa by the large windows, staring down at a book in her lap.

She looked up when the door opened.

The room was lit up by sunlight from the windows so the woman looked strangely like something out of a dream with all the light behind her.

Lauren raised an awkward hand. “Ah. Sorry.”

“It’s alright,” said the woman in a voice Lauren found very feminine. And strangely familiar.

She hovered uncertainly in the doorway as the woman uncrossed her legs and stood before her chair, her long skirt falling about her ankles. She was gracefully slim, Lauren noticed. A little like Selena, but slightly curvier.

“I got kind of lost, so many rooms in this house... uh, bye.” Lauren started closing the door.

“I always told Montgomery it was too big.”

The words stopped Lauren and she peaked back around the door. The woman was walking towards her, her black hair piled on top of her head and held in place with two white sticks that formed an X.

Lauren found the lady intriguing. “Uhm... yeah. But Mr. Hutson’s quite stubborn though...”

The lady nodded. “And I sure know it.”

Lauren stared at her as she slowly approached. She was beautiful, enough to make Lauren blink again.

The woman reached her and Lauren watched her tilt her head and narrow her eyes as she stared at Lauren.

Her face was tense, Lauren noticed. It was tight with some kind of intense emotion.

“You...” said the lady. Her grey eyes flitted down the length of Lauren’s body.

The woman wasn’t young, Lauren realized. She wasn’t old either. Perhaps, late thirties? Who knew? With a mental shrug, Lauren lifted a hand in a wave.

“I have to go, miss. Bye,” she said quietly.

Before the strange beautiful lady could say more with that whispery voice of hers, Lauren darted away, thinking about her. Did Hutson keep a mistress in his home?

The thought made Lauren snort. There was no way that woman was with wobbly old Hutson. Or any man in this house for that matter.

Pushing open the next door she came to, Lauren sighed in relief.

“A bathroom. Huzzah.” she murmured as she closed the door.

A few minutes later, she’d flushed and was busy washing her hands at the sink, enjoying the rose scent of the hand wash.

Lauren thought of that scent and realized something. The scent of flowers. When the woman had come closer, she’d smelled of... lilies. Yeah, that was it. A strange mix of lilies and caramel. The corners of Lauren's mouth quirked up in a tiny smile. Lilies always made her think of her mother. She’d loved lilies and always smelled of them. Even the bed she’d shared with her momma had smelled of lilies.

Lauren loved it.

With a sigh, she reached over for the hand towel.

Lauren glanced up at herself in the mirror as she wiped her hands. After a few seconds of looking at herself, her hands stopped.

Every single movement in her body stopped cold for a minute as Lauren stared wide-eyed at herself.

Her fingers turned white, clutched around the towel she held as she stared, noting with shock that her black hair, her grey eyes, her full lips, even her expression... it looked eerily similar to the woman in the room.

Her eyes squeezed shut and Lauren rubbed her finger and thumb over them before opening them to stare at herself again.

She frowned. Her gaze went from her hair to her chin and back. People looked alike, right? Lauren exhaled heavily, still staring at herself like she’d never seen her own face before.

The woman.

She couldn’t be... No. Lauren shook her head. Dropping the towel, she brought her fingers to her lips where she bit at the nail tips, trying to figure out her thoughts.

“Lauren?”

There was a knock at the door.

************

Aaron’s heart wouldn’t slow down.

He’d seen Catherine a minute earlier and from how shaken up she’d been, even when she’d assured him in her calm voice that Lauren hadn’t recognized her, he could only imagine what Lauren’s reaction would be.

“Lauren?” he called again when she didn’t answer.

He lifted his fist to knock again and the door went swinging open. She stood before him and when Aaron stared down in her wide grey eyes, he felt a sickening twist in his gut.

Lauren’s eyes were dazed as she stared up at him. Like she’d just seen a ghost. She suddenly leaned over to look down the hallway to Catherine’s room.

“Aaron...” she whispered, staring wide-eyed down the corridor.

“Yeah?” It was all he could do to not gather her up in his arms and rock her, but Lauren wasn’t crying. She was composed, if not slightly distant.

“Aaron, I saw someone. A lady,” she whispered, turning back to stare up at him. “Aaron, I know this might sound crazy, but... I look... I look just like her. Even my chin.”

Aaron glanced down the corridor, having to force his lips not to curve at her innocent words. Catherine was right, Lauren hadn’t recognized her. But that wouldn’t last.

“Really?” he asked her quietly, pushing loose strands behind her ear.

“Yeah!” She nodded frantically. Anxiety creased her forehead into a frown and he rubbed his finger there, easing away her stress.

Quietly taking her hand, Aaron began to lead the way back downstairs. They passed the room and Lauren stared at its closed door.

When they’d gone a few feet away, Lauren heard a creak and quickly spun around.

She gasped. There she was.

“Aaron!” she whispered, tapping his shoulder. “Look....”

Aaron stopped and turned around slowly to see Catherine coming out of her room as cautiously as a new butterfly.

“See?!” Lauren whispered to Aaron, staring at the woman who stood in the hallway staring back at her.

Lauren’s hands where trembling, her heart was beating so fast she was sure her ribcage was shaking from it.

She felt pulled back. She wanted to advance and ask the woman what she wanted to know, but it felt like the years of grief, pain and loneliness where strings drawing her back, away from what she needed, making her afraid, uncertain.

Clenching her jaw, she forced her foot forward in the first step. Followed by another step and another and another.

She held her breath until she stood right in front of the woman with the teary grey eyes.

Lauren didn’t know what to do or what to say, so she silently stared. She wanted to ask, but she couldn’t get the words to come out. But even if she never asked, she looked at this woman, felt her presence, a presence so completely familiar to Lauren’s heart and soul that she knew immediately that it was her.

“Mom...?”

A sharp gasp escaped Catherine and Lauren watched in horror as her mother’s eyes rolled back and her body fell unconsciously backward.

“Momma!” Lauren dived forward, wrapping her arms around her mother’s body, barely managing to hold her up. “Aaron!”

In a second he was there, wrapping an arm around Lauren as he looked down at Cathy. “Catherine? Catherine?”

He lowered her slowly to the ground, supporting her head with his arm.

Lauren held her mother’s hands, eyes wide in fear. “Aaron, what’s happening? What wrong with her?”

Lauren was breathing hard and Aaron quickly recognized a panic attack.

“Shit, Lauren. Breathe, baby. Calm down, she’ll be okay.”

Quickly, Aaron lifted Catherine and rushed into her room to lay her on her bed where Lauren quickly climbed on to sit beside her mother.

Aaron pulled his phone out and dialed Jason’s number.

“Jason,” he murmured. “Could you quietly come to Cathy’s room? She’s fainted and Lauren is beside herself with fright—”

Aaron had to stop when Jason yelled, “What?! What did you do?! I’ll be right there!”

Aaron came back to the huge bed where Lauren sat cross-legged, on top of the covers, staring at her mother’s face with wide eyes. Aaron stood back as he, for the first time, took a proper look at Lauren and her mother next to each other. He tilted his head. It was true that she resembled her mother, but he could easily pick out the differences. And he found himself finding many differences.

In the next second, the doorway was filled with everyone else in the house- besides Hutson- and Aaron nearly groaned in annoyance. He’d asked Jason to come “quietly”.

He watched helplessly as they all burst into the room, stopping at the sight of Lauren on the bed with her mother.

Selena gasped. “Oh, Rick, look!” she cooed with a hand over her mouth as tears filled her eyes.

“What happened?” Jason demanded as he checked on Catherine.

“She saw Lauren and...” Aaron sighed. “She fainted.”

“Do you think...” Lauren whispered, eyes only on Catherine’s face. “That I scared her?”

“It’s just the shock, honey,” said Jason as he gently laid Catherine’s hand back on her abdomen. “She’ll be perfectly fine.

Lauren nodded. Aaron watched as she stared closely at Catherine’s face as if she were committing every single feature to memory. Lauren’s eyes were full of reverence, her hand rising hesitantly to her mother’s face before falling again.

Lauren gulped and scooted closer. Her mother would be fine. She had to be, Lauren wasn’t having it any other way, not after wishing for this moment for the past twenty years.

Suddenly, Catherine’s eyes blinked open and she jerked as though startled. Immediately, she began pushing herself back, staring around her in confusion.

Lauren quickly leaned over, taking her mother’s hand.

“Easy. You’re alright, Miss Burns,” Jason soothed.

Catherine stopped moving when she felt Lauren’s hand cover hers.

Staring at the beautiful young woman looking down at her, Catherine could do absolutely nothing to hold back the tears that began to pour down her face.

“Lauren. Laurie...my baby...” she whispered and at that moment, Lauren threw herself forward to wrap her arms around her mother, burying her face in Catherine’s neck as she cried.

Aaron quietly led everyone from the room, pulling the door closed to give them their privacy.

Catherine held her child, rocking back and forth. It felt like her entire life, her entire existence had been building up to this moment. It was all she’d wished for every single day of her life.

To see her baby girl.

Her hand came up and stroked down the back of Lauren’s head.

“My Laurie...” she cried. Catherine’s body shook with the sobs, but for the first time, she didn’t hold any of it in. She’d always felt like she had to hide, like she had to show everybody how unbreakable she was.

She’d practically walked barefoot through gory hell on hot coals and broken glass, but she was still standing. She’d always had to keep up her strength because that’s what Catherine Burns did.

But just this. Just finally being able to hold her child again, to see her Lauren with her own two eyes, it had Catherine crumbling.

She didn’t want to keep up any kind of image anymore. Her body felt physically tired from being so strong all this while. She had her baby back. She could finally rest.

Red-faced and sniffling, Lauren pulled back to look at her mother’s face.

“Momma...” she whispered. Cathy stared at her, gently touching her daughter’s cheek. “You still smell like lilies.”

Catherine gave a half cry, half chuckle, and tweaked Lauren’s nose. “Do I?”

Lauren laughed through her tears and nodded.

“My Laurie...”

Lauren’s fingers were clutching her mother’s arms. The moment had to be real. If she let go off her mother’s arms, she might vanish, fade away like she used to in the dreams.

“Momma, they said...” she hiccupped. “Th-they said you were... they said you were dead. They said you died and that—”

“Shh, it’s okay, my love.” Catherine hugged her child close and planted kisses onto her forehead, her own eyes flooded with tears. “I’m here. I’m here now. I’m so sorry, baby, I should have fought them to come find you. I’m sorry.”

Lauren pulled away shaking her head vigorously. “No. No, I’m not- I’m not angry with you. I’m really not.”

Catherine held Lauren’s face in both hands, amazed at how grown her daughter was. She was a full woman! Her heart ached.

“You’re not?”

“No!” Lauren said firmly, desperate for her mother to believe her. Nothing would ruin their chance to be together again. Lauren understood Selena perfectly. There was no wasting time on useless emotions like anger. “I’m just so glad you’re h-here. I’m so glad you’re alive. It’s been so bad! These past years with Aunt Abby were s-so empty and these past few weeks, oh my God, these past weeks have been a nightmare! So much happened. But, I’ll do it all again, if- if it means I get you at the end.”

Catherine’s heart ached. Hutson had told her everything that had happened in the past few weeks and she felt sick to know that her daughter had to go through all that. She suffered because of the choices that other people made.

“I’m sorry, Laurie... Mom’s so sorry.”

Lauren gave her a weak smile as she wiped at her eyes. “I’m okay. Aaron helped me. I thought he’d killed you... and pops. But then, I... I learned the truth.”

Lauren felt her mother tense as her eyes went cold and distant. Lauren’s grip tightened around Catherine’s hands.

“Ma?”

Catherine looked up into her daughter’s eyes, feeling light-headed. It always came back to haunt her. The past just wouldn’t leave her alone.

“Lauren.... honey... I’m so sorry... I didn’t m-mean... I—”

“No.” The firm determination in Lauren’s voice made Catherine go still. “Momma, it’s alright. I know what happened and I w-want to say... I’m so sorry you had to go through everything you did. You went through hell, alone, you rose above it and... and you survived it.” Taking a breath, Lauren fought back the sobs that clogged her throat. “I’m s-so proud of you, momma. And as for... what happened that night... I’d like to say, Congratulations. You beat him, momma. You won.”